Current Endowed Scholarships

Weathers Family Endowed Scholarship

Type: Endowed

Donor: Rogene O. Weathers

Established: 1998

After receiving literature about John E. Brown College, Rogene Weathers decided to “show up unannounced”—taking the risk of possible non-acceptance because of lack of funds. He learned that the founder and other benefactors sought to provide opportunities for those who were serious about obtaining a college education. Rogene benefited from several provisions by the Founder throughout his college days, and served the institution in various part-time roles. These experiences intensified his desire to assist others, and his children—also having been beneficiaries—also want to pass opportunities on to their successors.

Having enrolled in JBU as a freshman in 1934 (the year of the institution’s renaming), Rogene married Mabel Faye Harrison (a member of JBU’s first class of four-year graduates, in 1935) shortly after her graduation. His own graduation with a Bachelor of Science in printing and journalism followed in 1938, and he was appointed to the full-time faculty in 1939. His four children and three of their spouses also graduated from JBU, as did some of their children.

After years of teaching and eventual graduate study in industrial education and in educational administration, Dr. Weathers served as dean of the faculty for fourteen years, followed by a period as vice president for research and planning. In this latter role, he initiated and directed the formulation and adoption of JBU’s mission statement which still serves as its basic guideline. Dr. Weathers passed away in 2003.